Busch has to show Kahne he can race without wrecking him

It happened for a third time in 11 races when Busch and Kahne battled for the lead Saturday night at Darlington Raceway.

The first two times Busch wrecked Kahne came early in races on restrictor-plate tracks. Then at Darlington, it was late in the race and even though there could be some debate on whether Busch actually tapped Kahne’s car, it appeared Busch knew he was at fault as he sounded deflated on his in-car radio after the incident.

While this challenge doesn’t rank with some others in his career, how Busch reacts to the last couple of weeks will be another test of his character and maturity.

Busch, who then ran over a piece of debris to nearly flatten his right rear tire, didn’t speak to reporters after his sixth-place finish. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver could have used the opportunity to admit fault in the accident but his bitter disappointment of dominating a race and not winning apparently weighed on him too much.

Kahne said Saturday night that he expected a call from Busch with another apology. It didn’t sound like Kahne was all that interested in listening to another excuse.

Like many, Kahne seemed pretty surprised and obviously perturbed by it all.

Say what you want about Kyle Busch, but this is not typical Kyle. He hasn’t earned his bad-boy image from taking drivers out. He’s earned it with hard-nosed racing for the lead and sometimes an acid tongue following events.

He is not a dirty racecar driver. With the exception of a lapped car that frustrates him a little too often, he has rarely wrecked anyone to make a pass. He rarely makes mistakes in being too aggressive that he wrecks others.

Most of his incidents with other drivers come in retaliation, such as Brad Keselowski at Bristol, Kevin Harvick at Darlington or Ron Hornaday at Texas.

That’s what makes the wrecking of Kahne so inexplicable. Twice at restrictor-plate races he has turned Kahne while attempting to draft with him. On Saturday night, according to Kahne, Busch drove way too hard into the corner to finish the move off without hitting or taking the air off Kahne’s car.

They all were unintentional mistakes, which rarely happen. Only one involved a dicey move.

What makes Busch so good is that typically he will try to make a move that other drivers just can’t make. He will usually win the battle of wills and has such incredible car control that he can make a move stick when others would end up in the wall.

So what does he do now?

Kahne would probably have an argument if he takes Busch out, but that’s not Kahne’s nature. He’s not going to let Busch squeeze into a spot in front of him, but he won’t flat-out wreck him.

Busch is going to have to race Kahne much like Jeff Gordon raced Martin Truex Jr. for a year after Gordon accidentally wrecked Truex and knew he probably had one coming.

Busch is going to have to give up spots to Kahne if there’s any doubt that Kahne has a faster car. He can’t afford to get into the back of him again.

Another question is how will Busch handle all of this going forward with the extra spotlight that comes with wrecking the same guy in back-to-back weeks. It was just a month ago when his Cup win at Texas—where he was once suspended for intentionally wrecking Hornaday—was viewed as another significant step in Busch putting his past behind him.

His running away from the media twice in the last month (he tried to avoid media after he spun on his own at Kansas but eventually stopped and talked) doesn’t help. It shows that he lacks confidence in himself to be composed enough to say something that he won’t regret. While saying nothing doesn’t look good, it’s better than the alternative.

Just the night before, Busch won the Nationwide Series race. Afterward, Busch and Nationwide crew chief Adam Stevens politely and without scorn answered questions about the team having to replace the nose of the race-winning car earlier in the weekend.

He couldn’t have handled the situation more professionally.

But now he has work to do. He has to show Kahne that he can race him without wrecking him. He needs to show that he accepts responsibility for what happened. He has to show that he’s the maturing racer that all those stories the last couple of years portray him to be.